Exciting stuff is happening! And there’s the promise of some very busy times ahead at the Bully Bus Manufactory!

Recently, I became a features writer for UK Handmade; It’s kept me working hard for the last month or so and I have to say I’m enjoying the new role and the challenges it brings. I’m writing fortnightly articles for a series called ‘The Road Less Travelled’ (something I’ve been featured in myself many moons ago) which celebrates the stories behind the people who’ve left normal, nine to five careers far behind them to pursue a creative path and build their own businesses. It’s very inspiring; Everyone’s story is different – No journey is ever the same.

You can read the latest interview here or wait until Saturday 29th March, 2014 for the next article to be published.

Then there’s an invitation I recently received to become a participant in the Festival of Thrift’s, ‘School of Thrift’ project…….

John Orchard, Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway – Part of the driving force behind the Festival of Thrift.

The festival itself launched in 2013 over the weekend of 27th/28th September, at Lingfield Point, Darlington and made a big impact both regionally and nationally with 27,000 visitors (17,000 more than expected), pouring through the gates – All eager to see what the UK’s first ever Festival of Thrift was about.

And if you were one of the people that attended you would have seen examples of sewing, dancing, foraging, playing, music-making, hula-hooping, theatre, gardening, upcycling, eating, bargain-hunting, learning, oven-making, quilting, baking, crafting – and plenty of inspiring talks on sustainable topics also taking place.

The Festival Of Thrift – Build it and they will come!

The idea behind the festival was to bring a free cultural celebration to the people of the North East, the UK and beyond, where people could find the fun in learning how to reuse, recycle/upcycle and ultimately save money and benefit the environment.

Wayne Hemingway of Red or Dead.

The fantastic team behind last year’s accomplishment, Co-Curators Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway, Festival Director Stella Hall and John Orchard, a Director of Marchday, the owners of Lingfield Point, are back in full force for 2014 with dates set for the same weekend in September.

Wayne said: “The success of last year proves even further that thrift is not just a flash in the pan but a set of values applied to the way you live your life.

Thrift has become a vital, contemporary movement reflecting traditional values, and it’s evolving each day as our needs and the needs of our planet change.

What we found last year is that thrift provides a community and a reason for people to get together – from families who want a free, fun day out with fantastic entertainment, food and activities to those who are looking to learn new skills whilst saving money and contributing positively to the planet as they’re doing it

The Festival of Thrift is an apt response to the economic climate and can play a positive and uplifting role in helping folk to navigate their way through times of low disposable income. I’m delighted it’s back for a second year and I hope it makes even more of an impact this time round.”

And the ‘School of Thrift’ ? What’s that all about?

The School of Thrift is a network of bloggers that support the principles behind the Festival of Thrift. Basically the aim is to create a really fun, thrifty, online community for people to be a part of and go to for advice, tips and tricks and find folks like me ready to share my wonderful wisdom with everyone. (I didn’t come up the ‘wonderful wisdom’ thing btw – Credit must be given to the bods behind the project for that little gem).

So what do I do? What can you expect from me?

Business as usual basically 😉 I’ll occasionally post content written specifically with the School of Thrift in mind – hints, tips, tutorials, recipes etc – The same kind of thing I’ve been doing for the last few years really…….. I’m delighted to say that my blog has been described by the team back at ‘FOT SOT’ base camp as ‘right up their street’ – So there’s no real change planned for the approach to how I work or the kinds of things that I’ll be posting – Business very much as usual 😉

I’m really looking forward to taking part!

The Festival of Thrift – Campervan friendly!

For more information on the Festival of Thrift 2014 programme please visit the website at www.festivalofthrift.co.uk and sign up for updates.

And Finally! I’m also going to be a guest designer for Handmade Harbour. MORE exciting stuff! If you’ve not paid a visit to either the website or blog then you’re in for a real treat…… there’s beautiful digital stamps and downloadable papers etc to purchase at very reasonable prices, tutorials, sewing patterns, papercraft challenges, freebies and ooodles more!

And there’s campervans! Lots of reasons to make a visit asap 😉

So this week I purchased a lovely little Handmade Harbour splitty design to use in assorted projects and also took advantage of a brilliant egg cosy tutorial that Josie of ‘Sewforsoul‘ had recently posted……

You can find the full tutorial here. I love Josie’s work – She’s a fellow lover of vintage fabrics and an accomplished freemotion machine embroidery, crafting type person; I suspect we have very similar tastes in many things……….. Maybe she could join the School of Thrift too 😉

And my egg cosy?

I think I’m going to make one in every colour of the rainbow – A different coloured cosy for every day of the week. What a brilliant way to start each day 😉